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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389338">I'll Do It If You Let Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickledBeef/pseuds/PickledBeef'>PickledBeef</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, klaus being a mama hen, mentions of the horror</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:20:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389338</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickledBeef/pseuds/PickledBeef</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus is the only one to check on Ben after he has to unleash The Horror in a fight. He helps him clean up. Just a small hurt/comfort one-shot. Takes place a few months before Ben's death, when they're both teenagers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'll Do It If You Let Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is just a little headcanon I have--Ben and Klaus were close even before Ben's death. He's the only one who bothers to check in on him after he has to use his powers and this time, he helps Ben get cleaned up. Nothing really happens, it's just a soft moment between them that was rattling in my head.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’ll do it if you let me,” Klaus said softly.</p><p>Ben hadn’t realized that Klaus had been standing in the doorway until he spoke, but his words weren’t a sharp jolt. Instead, they seemed to float, they felt gentle and warm. Ben looked up into the mirror, letting his gaze slide past himself to meet Klaus’s eyes. They were both still for a long moment, Ben holding himself stiff while he warred with himself internally, Klaus waiting patiently for Ben to accept. </p><p>Ben never shared this experience with anyone else. Grace used to help him through it when he was young, but as soon as he was old enough to handle clean-up on his own, he’d requested that she stop helping. It made his stomach twist uncomfortably when people looked at him with pity or disgust. Even Grace, who could keep her face the same sunshiny neutral, would see right through him, right to the fear that bristled beneath the surface and it’d make him cry every time. </p><p>This time though, Ben was exhausted. He was absolutely and utterly exhausted and Klaus, who had no hint of teasing on his face, no smirk or judgment or disgust or pity, was watching him patiently. Ben found himself nodding minutely. It was such a small motion that he wasn’t even sure that Klaus would see it, but apparently he had because he was moving then. He stepped the rest of the way into the spacious bathroom and shut the door behind himself. </p><p>“Sit down,” He instructed, jutting his chin toward the closed toilet seat and began rolling the sleeves of his white button up shirt to his elbows. </p><p>Ben obeyed without protest, moves heavy and slow. Thankfully, Klaus’s eyes didn’t linger much, focusing on the task at hand instead, getting a washcloth wet with warm water. He moved in a way that wasn’t characteristic for him—patiently, each movement careful. There was a motherly quality about Klaus that Ben didn’t see much. Was he really looking that rough? He must look bad if it pulled out Klaus’s mother hen. </p><p>Klaus kneeled down in front of Ben and held a hand out, palm up. Ben didn’t need instructions to know what Klaus was asking for—he just rested his palm in Klaus’s hand and let him take over, and he did. Klaus gently scrubbed the blood away, eyes focused on what he was doing. He seemed clearer now, sober, and Ben was grateful for that. He was seeing Klaus sober less and less these days. They stayed like this awhile, Klaus cleaning both of Ben’s hands and forearms before finally lifting his eyes to meet Ben’s. </p><p>“Take off your mask,” He instructed quietly, waiting for Ben to obey. </p><p>Ben pulled the domino mask from his face, leaving clean skin where it’d been sitting, surrounded by splatters of blood. Klaus took it from him and dropped it unceremoniously into the sink before returning to where he was, sitting on his knees in front of Ben. Ben leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and Klaus took the invitation to wipe the washcloth against Ben’s cheek, slowly and methodically clearing away the blood. Ben closed his eyes and let it happen. </p><p>“It was worse this time,” Klaus eventually said quietly, movements slower. </p><p>Ben opened his eyes and glanced up at Klaus, nodding faintly. </p><p>“I almost thought I wasn’t going to be able to pull them back,” He admitted, voice just a whisper, “They felt...angry.” </p><p>Klaus stopped moving and dropped his hands, looking at Ben with a hard expression, not pity or shame or disgust—none of the expressions he was used to getting, but just thoughtfulness, like he was puzzling through something on the inside. After a beat, he returned to what he was doing, dragging the washcloth under Ben’s chin. </p><p>“Are they hurting you?”</p><p>Ben chewed the inside of his cheek, grinding the flesh back and forth between his teeth. He nodded. </p><p>Klaus’s hand stilled again and his eyes were back on Ben’s. </p><p>“What helps?” He asked quietly. </p><p>Ben shrugged and let his head hang forward, eyes shielded from Klaus’s. There wasn’t much that really seemed to soothe the beasts in Ben’s stomach. They had a mind of their own, their emotions didn’t match Ben’s most of the time, and they were growing apart. It was an uncomfortable thought that Ben wasn’t ready to face. How far apart could they grow before Ben lost control of them? </p><p>Klaus lifted Ben’s chin with the side of his knuckle and resumed cleaning his face, not speaking again. He seemed to get that Ben didn’t want to talk about them and he didn’t push, thankfully. Klaus was thorough, cleaning behind Ben’s ears, behind his neck, everywhere he had skin exposed before standing to rinse the rag in the sink, wringing it out a few times before letting it sit in the basin. </p><p>“You still have some in your hair, but not too much. You should be able to take a bath without the water turning too red.” He said, turning on the tap for the bathtub, taking a few minutes to adjust the water before dropping the stopper into the drain. When he was done, he returned to squat in front of Ben again while he waited for the tub to fill. </p><p>“Wanna sleep in my room tonight?” Klaus offered. </p><p>Ben looked at him and expected to see the pity there then, but it wasn’t. Klaus just looked hopeful, his expression more open than usual and Ben once again found himself nodding. Klaus grinned. </p><p>“Take your time. When you’re ready, I’ll be in my room. I’ll build us a pillow fort.” He said, still smiling when he stood and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Ben to himself to finish getting himself cleaned up.</p>
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